Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

Sensei Shinzan Palma opens Upaya’s 2022 Spring Practice Period with a talk on the intimacy of Zen liturgy. Shinzan suggests that our individualistic Western culture is deficient in community rituals.  He proposes that the practice of Zen liturgy can play a part in revealing our interconnectedness with all beings, past, present, and future. Liturgy, Shinzan insists, is not about the rote repetition of dead forms but about waking up to what is happening right now so that we can be of service to others. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.

We don’t have adequate language to describe the incomprehensible presence we meet in deep spiritual practice or the time of dying. We choose to name it Mystery with a capital M. The word Mystery points to depth, to liberation, a kind of beauty and truth that can’t be fully defined. Yet, Mystery is not something we cannot know. Mystery is endlessly discovered. Embracing Mystery may not be about taking action. It’s more about opening. It’s more about awe and wonder. It involves a willingness to “Not Know.” This is not a stance of ignorance but a quality of attention. It is the capacity to bear witness to that which cannot be solved but can be lived into. This program is an opportunity to explore our relationship to Mystery, and to discover what encourages or limits our encounter with the vast unknown. The online program will include a guided meditation, opportunities to interact with the teachers, and other participants. Program Instructor(s): Frank Ostaseski; Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.

‘In light of the horror in the world, what will sustain us? What can sustain us enough to love the world as it is and stay engaged?’ In this Dharma talk the question of trust, right here and right now, in light of a heavy, and distant heart, comes to the fore for Monshin Nanette Overley. She discusses Case 4 in the Book of Serenity: the World Honoured One Points to the Ground, to elucidate these questions and more.

In this program, Roshi Joan Halifax and Frank Ostaseski remind us that we can use the experiences of our lives, even those of great suffering, to awaken to our true nature. Frank Ostaseski reminds us that impermanence is the truth of life, and that it is painful to try to deny this fundamental truth. Roshi Joan Halifax discusses positive disintegration and encourages us to remember our aspiration to awaken and to benefit others even amidst the suffering of the world. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here.

In this evening’s Wednesday night Dharma Talk, poet, essayist, and translator Jane Hirshfield, gives a moving talk to the realms of activity in our lives. She begins by calling in the realm of compassion of Avalokitschvara, where we see and hear the cries of the world ever so much more today. To the practice of saying, ‘yes’ to the world in light of its myriad complexities, and to tenderness. The bridge between the poet and the bodhisattva.

Rhonda Magee, M.A., J.D., who is called by some the mother of the movement to integrate mindfulness and racial justice efforts, invites us to explore the practice of loving-kindness in a time of war. Rhonda discusses the practice of Metta in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also asks us to consider the other “wars” which are calling for our loving attention, including the climate catastrophe, the sicknesses of those we love, and our own inner emotional struggles. Professor Magee provides us with a practice by which we can extend love to those most in need of it in these times of war.

Natalie Golderg (Writing Down the Bones, Three Simple Lines) tells us how the practice of Haiku can change the way we interact with our world. She discusses her own haiku practice, including the story of finding a “Haiku mentor,” and how she began to see haiku everywhere. Finally, Natalie raises the question:  what practice, or way of being engaged by the world, is deepest and most necessary for each one of us?  

In this final session, Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax continue with the audience interactions from the previous Part 8. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

In this session, Roshi Joan Halifax reminds us of the importance of equanimity. She leads us in a practice and participants share their experience of this program. Frank Ostaseski joins in during the audience interactions. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

After, Frank Ostaseski’s exploration of the importance of service (Part 6), the participants are split into breakout groups that’s followed with a Q&A. Roshi Joan Halifax joins in during the audience interactions. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

In this session, Frank Ostaseski explores the importance of service. He asks us to meet love and death well by moving beyond the polarity of I and other. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

In this session, questions and answers from participants are shared. Roshi Joan Halifax shares a metta practice and invites us to come alongside our pain in order to experience the fullness of our life. Frank Ostaseski joins in during the audience interactions. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

In this session Frank Ostaseski delves into the concept of Love. He introduces us to the four boundless abodes, or the four immeasurables and encourages us to cultivate these practices in order to share them with others. Roshi Joan Halifax joins in during the audience interactions. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

Frank Ostaseski encourages our realization of non separateness, that can “be grounded in everyday observation.” He shares his experience of a heart attack and how he experienced a lack of compassion from caregivers, which led him to lose contact with himself. Roshi Joan Halifax shares her experience of care and connection and how impactful it is to be handled with respect and kindness. She helps us to understand the difference between empathy and compassion. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. For Program/Series description and to access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Love and Death 2021

In this fourth and final talk in Upaya’s Dharma talk series on the precepts, Matthew Kozan Palevsky explores the Ten Grave Precepts. He suggests that we look at these precepts not primarily as “do’s and don’ts” but rather as guides as to what living out of an awakened mind would look like. Kozan invites us to return again and again to the Bodhisattva vows: as our thoughts and desires shift, the precepts are constant; as we come and go, the Bodhisattva precepts remain.